Full thermoelectric characterization of a single molecule
Abstract Molecules are predicted to be chemically tunable towards high thermoelectric efficiencies and they could outperform existing materials in the field of energy conversion. However, their capabilities at the more technologically relevant temperature of 300 K are yet to be demonstrated. A possi...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-39368-7 |
| _version_ | 1797789704748269568 |
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| author | Andrea Gemma Fatemeh Tabatabaei Ute Drechsler Anel Zulji Hervé Dekkiche Nico Mosso Thomas Niehaus Martin R. Bryce Samy Merabia Bernd Gotsmann |
| author_facet | Andrea Gemma Fatemeh Tabatabaei Ute Drechsler Anel Zulji Hervé Dekkiche Nico Mosso Thomas Niehaus Martin R. Bryce Samy Merabia Bernd Gotsmann |
| author_sort | Andrea Gemma |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Molecules are predicted to be chemically tunable towards high thermoelectric efficiencies and they could outperform existing materials in the field of energy conversion. However, their capabilities at the more technologically relevant temperature of 300 K are yet to be demonstrated. A possible reason could be the lack of a comprehensive technique able to measure the thermal and (thermo)electrical properties, including the role of phonon conduction. Here, by combining the break junction technique with a suspended heat-flux sensor, we measured the total thermal and electrical conductance of a single molecule, at room temperature, together with its Seebeck coefficient. We used this method to extract the figure of merit zT of a tailor-made oligo(phenyleneethynylene)-9,10-anthracenyl molecule with dihydrobenzo[b]thiophene anchoring groups (DHBT-OPE3-An), bridged between gold electrodes. The result is in excellent agreement with predictions from density functional theory and molecular dynamics. This work represents the first measurement, within the same setup, of experimental zT of a single molecule at room temperature and opens new opportunities for the screening of several possible molecules in the light of future thermoelectric applications. The protocol is verified using SAc-OPE3, for which individual measurements for its transport properties exist in the literature. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T01:54:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6e2857d556bf42f793abd4647c00a67e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T01:54:28Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-6e2857d556bf42f793abd4647c00a67e2023-07-02T11:19:59ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232023-06-011411610.1038/s41467-023-39368-7Full thermoelectric characterization of a single moleculeAndrea Gemma0Fatemeh Tabatabaei1Ute Drechsler2Anel Zulji3Hervé Dekkiche4Nico Mosso5Thomas Niehaus6Martin R. Bryce7Samy Merabia8Bernd Gotsmann9IBM Research Europe – ZurichUniversité Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, Institut Lumière MatièreIBM Research Europe – ZurichIBM Research Europe – ZurichDepartment of Chemistry, Durham UniversityIBM Research Europe – ZurichUniversité Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, Institut Lumière MatièreDepartment of Chemistry, Durham UniversityUniversité Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, Institut Lumière MatièreIBM Research Europe – ZurichAbstract Molecules are predicted to be chemically tunable towards high thermoelectric efficiencies and they could outperform existing materials in the field of energy conversion. However, their capabilities at the more technologically relevant temperature of 300 K are yet to be demonstrated. A possible reason could be the lack of a comprehensive technique able to measure the thermal and (thermo)electrical properties, including the role of phonon conduction. Here, by combining the break junction technique with a suspended heat-flux sensor, we measured the total thermal and electrical conductance of a single molecule, at room temperature, together with its Seebeck coefficient. We used this method to extract the figure of merit zT of a tailor-made oligo(phenyleneethynylene)-9,10-anthracenyl molecule with dihydrobenzo[b]thiophene anchoring groups (DHBT-OPE3-An), bridged between gold electrodes. The result is in excellent agreement with predictions from density functional theory and molecular dynamics. This work represents the first measurement, within the same setup, of experimental zT of a single molecule at room temperature and opens new opportunities for the screening of several possible molecules in the light of future thermoelectric applications. The protocol is verified using SAc-OPE3, for which individual measurements for its transport properties exist in the literature.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-39368-7 |
| spellingShingle | Andrea Gemma Fatemeh Tabatabaei Ute Drechsler Anel Zulji Hervé Dekkiche Nico Mosso Thomas Niehaus Martin R. Bryce Samy Merabia Bernd Gotsmann Full thermoelectric characterization of a single molecule Nature Communications |
| title | Full thermoelectric characterization of a single molecule |
| title_full | Full thermoelectric characterization of a single molecule |
| title_fullStr | Full thermoelectric characterization of a single molecule |
| title_full_unstemmed | Full thermoelectric characterization of a single molecule |
| title_short | Full thermoelectric characterization of a single molecule |
| title_sort | full thermoelectric characterization of a single molecule |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-39368-7 |
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